Animal fiber for upholstery purposes



J. G. STEPHENS.

ANIMAL FIBER FOR UPHOLSTERY PURPOSES. No. 250,402.

(No Model.)

' Patented Dec. 6,1881.

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UNITED STATES JOHN G. STEPHENS, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERS PATENT OFFICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,402, dated December Application filed May 10, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN GEORGE STE- PHENS, of Jersey City, Hudson county, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Animal Fiber for Upholstery Purposes, of which the follow-ing is a specification.

Myinvention consists of anew articleofmanufacture produced upholstery purposes,as curled hairisnow used, the same being crimped or corrugated hair, instead of twisted, and also being hardened and stiffened by heat, and thereby rendered more substantial and lasting than the curled hair. Gurled hair lacks in rigidity, so that articles made of it soon condense and lose the elasticity on which their merit mainly depends, and require frequent refitting. The process of making it is slow and expensive and injures the natural strength and elasticity to some extent by long exposure of it to the wet condition in which it is twisted, whereas the effect of corrugatiug and heating the hairis increased rigidity and power of elasticity.

The method of curling hair by twisting consists of wetting it thoroughly in water, then twisting it into ropes of considerable size, and then laying it away in the wet and twisted state to allow the curls time to set, which generally takes six months or more, during which time the nature ofthe hairis more orlessinjured by the action of the water and the air. \Vhen thought to be well set and sufficiently dry to retain the curled form the ropes are picked apart by picking machinery, which also injures the hair by breakingit, and also wastes itconsiderably thereby.

In the preparation of my improved article of crimped or corrugated hair I first clean it thoroughly by washing it, preferably in a bath of borax and alum in water, then dry it and pass it through hot crimping-rolls, first oiling it sufficiently to enable it to yield to the teeth of the crimping-rolls without damage to the integrity of the fiber by cracking and crushing, and I supply it to the rolls by means of hackling-rolls, arranged to draw and lay the fibers parallel to each other, so as to pass lengthwise through the rolls at right angles to the corrugations. I prefer to use such oil for dressfrom animal-hair for use in I ing the hair previous to passing through the rolls as will readily dry away afterward, and after passing through the rollsI let thekinked or corrugated hair remain at rest until thoroughly dry and set, and thus obtain the best results in respect of the rigidity and permanency of the corrugations. The accompanying drawing represents a sectional elevation of a pair of crimpingor corrugating rolls, also hackling-rolls, for drawing, straightening out, and feeding the fibers to said rolls; also,aportion ofan endless belt or apron employed to deliver the material to said feeding and drawing rolls, and also a device for applying oil or other liquid substances to the fibers to facilitate the crimping of them.

A represents the corrugated rolls, which consist of ordinary grooved rolls, of brass or iron, spaces for the admission of steam through the journals, as is common with such machines.

B represents three sets of toothed drawing, straightening, and delivering or feeding rolls. 0 represents an endless apron,andD the fiber being delivered by said apron and feed-rolls to the corrugating or crimping rolls, from which the fiber is delivered in the crimped or corrugated state after passing through them, as seen at E.

G represents a tank containing oil or other dressing to be dripped upon the fibers by the roller H and drip-plate I. The plate scrapes the oil from the surface of the roll as the lator fluted crimpingwith internal hollow ter slowly turns round, and raises a thin filn1 from the tank. The oil may be applied to the hair at any time and in any approved way before it arrives at the rolls.

It will be observed that hairs too short to be curled to advantage by roping may be corrugated eqnally as well as the longer ones, and a material advantage ofcorrugated fiber over the curled will be found in the shorter and consequently stiffer bends or curves that this possesses.

It will also be noticed that by the heat and also by the effect of the oiland other substances with which the hair may be treated in the corrugating processfor instance, gummy and resinous matters-the hair stiffer than in the natural way.

will be made By these corrugations or crimps my improved article will be readily distinguished from the curled hair of common use.

I desire it to be understood that I do not claim curled hair, for that is common and well known, and the article which I claim differs clearly from it in form and is much superior in quality.

I claim- Animal-hair for upholstering purposes when 10 crimped or corrugated, instead of curled and twisted, as a new article of manufacture.

JOHN GEORGE STEPHENS.

Witnesses:

S. H. MORGAN, A. P. THAYER. 

